


Vulnerability

by MissPoppy



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Disaster Gay Gavin Reed, Elijah Kamski & Gavin Reed are Siblings, Fluff, Gavin Reed Redemption, M/M, Post-Game, Post-Pacifist Best Ending (Detroit: Become Human), RK900 Has Anxiety, Robot/Human Relationships, Strangers to Lovers, slow burn?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-29
Updated: 2018-09-02
Packaged: 2019-07-04 07:27:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,781
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15836577
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissPoppy/pseuds/MissPoppy
Summary: Gavin Reed finds a beat up RK900 on his way home one night and decides to be a good guy for once in his life.





	1. First Meeting

Detroit after the revolution had a dreaded sort of calm to it, humans and androids trying to figure out the new way of life they now lived in. Jericho was taking in as many androids that wanted to go to them as they could, helping them discover their newfound personhood. Markus was talking to government officials, hashing out proper rights for android kind. It was an uphill battle for them but they weren't backing down. The city police commissioner was quick to jump to the side of the androids, wanting to look good politically. Laws were swiftly put into place making crimes against androids just as punishable as those against a human. It meant the DPD was flooded with new cases within a week.

 

Gavin sighed as he flipped through a manila folder at his desk, one week of this had him worn out. He was ready for his shift to end already, ready to head home and sleep through his next three days off. He glanced up at the bullpen's clock, 45 minutes to go before he could leave. Looking back at the folder on his desk, he tried to focus but ended up rereading the same page twice. ‘ _ Yeah this isn't gonna work.’ _ Gavin thought as he almost read the page a third time, closing the folder, he stood and stretched, taking a look around the bullpen before his eyes locked onto Connor standing in the break room, he walked over to where Connor was getting a coffee for Hank and sidled up next to him.

 

“Good evening, Detective Reed.” Connor didn't even bother looking at Gavin, continuing to make his partners drink.

 

“Hey, how's my favourite tin can?” Gavin slung an arm over the bot’s shoulder and pulled him down a bit. “Getting on good now that you're a real boy now?”

 

“I suppose so. Is there something you needed, Detective Reed?” Connor didn't like Gavin but the shorter man had gotten nicer since their scuffle in the evidence room, still teased like schoolyard bully but no longer pulled guns on the android so Connor took it for what he could.

 

“Nah, just gotta kill some time before I can go home and crash, ya know?” Gavin leaned more against Connor so he wouldn't walk away. 

 

“Ah. I believe Hank is doing something similar, he thinks because he sent me in here that I don't know he's playing solitaire on his computer.” the bot huffed in slight annoyance. 

 

“Yeah, we humans are like that. We love not doing shit.” Gavin chuckled when Connors cheeks puffed out. “So, you two going at it yet?”

 

“‘Going at’ what…?”

 

“Ya know...” Gavin made a vaguely sexual gesture with his hands. 

 

“I do not know what you mean. If you'll excuse me, I need to get the lieutenant his drink. Good night, Gavin.” Connor slipped out of Gavin's hold, face slightly tinged blue and hurried back to his shared desk.

 

‘ _ Oh they're so fucking. _ ’ Gavin thought as he walked over to his desk to grab his jacket. There was still 25 minutes left of his shift but he decided he'd just clock in early when he came in on Monday. He pulled on his jacket as he left the building to start his walk to his apartment, it was cold but not so cold that he needed to drive his truck to work. 

 

Gavin quite enjoyed walking through the city at night anyway, liked the peacefulness it gave him. Listening to the clacking overhead of a train passing, the muffled sounds of people talking from their homes, music thumping from bars and clubs. He loved the city, never could understand why his brother isolated himself away from it. Gavin would die without the hustle and bustle that the city gave. Even as violent as it could be, he still loves it.

 

He's almost at his apartment building when he hears a sickening crunching noise and a man cry out down a dark alleyway. Immediately unholstering his gun, he cautiously starts heading towards where the sound came from, getting closer he can hear a group of people laughing and throwing insults at someone. Gavin rounds a corner to see a gang of people crowded around an android, kicking and hitting it with a bat.

 

“You think you're a real person but you're just a shitty bucket of bolts!” one of the people sneered, lifting their bat to take a swing at the android's face. 

 

“Detroit Police! Drop your weapons, step away from the android, and put your hands where I can see them!” Gavin knows what he's doing is stupid, should have called backup as soon as he saw what was happening but his body went into autopilot first. Someone's immediate safety was at risk and he wasn't going to wait around for help. Luckily all these cowards needed was the word ‘police’ to send them running the other way from him. Once they were gone, Gavin holstered his gun and rushed to the android on the ground.

 

“Hey… Hey, can you hear me? You're alright now, what's your name?” Gavin carefully rolls the android to face him and places the bot’s head on his lap. He knows this face though. “Con…?”

 

“Hhh…” The android stills himself before forcing his lids open to reveal the most beautiful blue-grey eyes Gavin has ever seen. “N-no… RK900.”

 

“Right, RK900, can you sit up? Is there anything broken?” Gavin helps him to a sitting position and starts checking him over to see the extent of the damages. RK900 brings a hand up to his ear and rips out a small biocomponent.

 

“This one… I think my arms and torso got the most of it…”

 

“Okay. Let's get you up and to the nearest Cyberlife store then.” Gavin starts to lift RK900 up but gets pushed back.

 

“N-no! I c-cannot go there!!” the android suddenly looks terrified and backs away from Gavin.

 

“Woah! Woah… okay no Cyberlife. Where do you live? Is there somewhere I can take you?” Gavin puts his hands up to show no harm. The android shakes his head. 

 

“What about Jericho?” Another head shake. Gavin takes a look around the alley, there's clear signs it's being lived in. “Are you… are you living here?”

 

“I-I am… I have nowhere else to go… Jericho doesn't want me there, I look too much like the Deviant Hunter for them to trust me…” RK900 pulls his knees close to himself, he looks scared and Gavin can't stand it.

 

“Shit… Okay, shit. Right. Get whatever things you have and get up, my apartment is close. You can stay with me for now.” Somewhere in Gavin's head, he knows this is a bad idea but the look of the android is breaking his heart and like fuck if he's just gonna leave him in the alley, beaten and bloody. When the offer of a warm apartment hits the android’s one working ear, he looks up at Gavin like he's looking at the sun for the first time. Gavin definitely doesn't know what to do about that but do now he focuses on helping RK900 get the few possessions he has hidden and helps him walk to his apartment. So much for sleeping his days off away.


	2. Getting Home

Getting the tall android to his apartment was a struggle for Gavin, he nearly fell trying to get him up the four flights of stairs to his floor but eventually they got to his door and he leaned RK900 back against the wall so he could fish his keys out of his jacket.

 

“Are you sure you want to go to all this trouble for someone like me…?” RK900’s voice was quiet, timid, almost scared.

 

Gavin's heart flopped uselessly in his chest and he cursed himself for every rotten thing he said about androids, this robot could probably throw him through a wall but acted like it was the other way around. What the hell else had he experienced before the beating in the alley, Gavin wondered. He got the door unlocked and grabbed a hold of RK900 again, shuffling them into his apartment.

 

“Yeah I'm sure man, you need a safe place to stay and I got that, got a whole damn room not being used that you can stay in.” Gavin huffed as he kicked the door closed and walked them into his living room, he eased RK900 onto his couch and immediately turned to go walk down the hall. “Just hang on a minute okay?.”

 

RK900 started to open his mouth to respond but the sound of claws tapping on hardwood quickly shut down anything he was about to say, he turned to see a small dog darting into the room to greet the bot, tail wagging so hard it looked like it was about to take off. The dog got to RK900’s feet and let out a yappy bark, its round body swaying from the force of its tail.

 

“Hello.”

 

“Her name is Peanut Gallery! Pea for short!” Gavin shouted from one of the rooms further down the hall.

 

“Peanut Gallery…?” RK900 reached a hand out to the small chihuahua, letting her sniff his hand before he gave her a gentle pat, he decided when she started licking his hand that he liked dogs.

 

“What do you think, Pea? Like our new visitor?” Gavin chuckled as he walked in and sat on the coffee table in front of RK900 with a small med kit and a damp cloth, he carefully reached out and wiped the thirium off the android’s face, checking over to see how bad the damage was now in the light of his living room. “I called my brother, he's on his way over to fix the… the thingy you took out, gonna stop and pick up some clothes from one of my coworkers for you too. I know you probably had enough of humans for one day but I figured it can't be comfortable with it missing, it's for hearing right?”

 

“Yes… it is not pleasant, there is static over everything currently. Thank you for doing this, you did not have to.” RK900 is confused by the kindness of this human, he hasn't met a kind human yet.

 

“I'm a cop, helping people is in the job description. What did you say your name was again?” Gavin feels like an ass for forgetting so quick but there's a lot happening in his mind.

 

“RK900.”

 

“That's your model number, what's your name?”

 

“I only have my model number… I was never given a name.” RK900 tilts his head slightly.

 

“Well then… guess we'll have to brainstorm, huh? RK900 is way too long.” Gavin fidgets with the blue stained cloth as he thinks. “How about a nickname for now? Would Nines be okay?”

 

RK900 stares at Gavin for a while. Gavin tries not to squirm under his gaze, god this all feels weird.

 

“I like it.”

 

Gavin lets out a small breath at the uptick of a smile Nines gives him, he likes that smile, could stand to see more of it.

 

“Great! Okay well, I can't do much else right now, that'll be up to Eli when he gets here, but I can go get the spare room set up for you. It's a little cluttered right now but we can figure something out.” Gavin lets himself smile at Nines, tells himself it's just for the android’s benefit, to make him feel more comfortable. It's not.

 

“You have not told me your name…”

 

“Shit. Really? Fuck, I'm sorry. Jeez I'm stupid. My name is Gavin.”

 

“Gavin…” Nines lets the name roll on his tongue. Gavin tries not to blush, he fails miserably.

 

“Ha, yep that's me. Ol' Gavin Reed, asshole extraordinaire.” The shorter man laughs out awkwardly and shuffles to the spare bedroom as Nines gets up to follow him. The spare room is cluttered with boxes that Gavin hasn't had the time to sort through, there's a small desk with a laptop in the corner and a pullout couch on the adjacent wall. Gavin starts pushing boxes into his own bedroom to give the android more space, he's not sure why, androids don't need a lot of space right? He leaves two stacked boxes next to the side of the couch to act as a bedside table and starts to pull the bed out, he never had to use the thing unless Eli or his mother came into the city which was close to never.

 

“You do not need to go to such lengths for my sake, Gavin.” Nines tells him as Gavin grabs the folding step ladder next to the desk and starts digging through the sheets and blankets on the top shelf in the room's small closet.

 

“Sure I don't _need_ to, but I'd rather you be comfortable so I'm gonna.” Gavin tosses a couple pillows down at the pulled out bed and steps down with a plaid sheet and a soft fleece blanket. “I didn't _need_ to do any of this but like fuck if I was gonna just leave you in that alley, busted up and alone.”

 

“I… Thank you, Gavin.” Nines’ face has a slight blue flush, it's beautiful. Gavin forces himself to look away and make the bed as Nines takes a seat at the desk and starts rummaging through the small backpack he has, humming quietly as he pulls out a black stuffed cat and reaches over to set it next to the pillows. Gavin notices “From Alice.” scrawled in a messy childlike version of the Cyberlife text on the tag attached to the cat’s ear. ‘ _Cute._ ’

 

There’s a knock at the door and the sound of keys jingling and Gavin stands up and pops his back before heading into the front room to greet his brother. Nines following close behind, poor guy doesn’t seem to like being left alone, not that Gavin could really blame him.

 

“Where’s my dear brother~?” Elijah singsongs as the door swings open, grinning as he grabs a hold of Gavin and spins them around in a hug.

 

“I already regret this…”

 

“That is the case with most of your life, dumbass.” Chloe chirps as she passed through the apartment’s threshold. She continues pass the humans and walks to the kitchen to set down a toolbox and a bag of clothing. Nines looks dumbfoundedly between the two guests, shock apparent on his face.

 

“Aww you brought my favourite stupid bimbo.” Gavin grumbles as he pushes Elijah off of him.

 

“You’re your favourite stupid bimbo, Gavin.” Elijah helpfully adds as he turns to face Nines. “So you’re the RK900 my brother said is having some trouble? I’m Elijah Kamski. Let’s see if I can help with that.”

 

“I-It is an honour to meet you, M-Mister Kamski.” Nines stammered and jerked out a hand to take Elijah’s and softly shook it.

 

“Please just Eli is fine. Let’s go sit in the living room and you can show me what’s wrong.”

 

Nines waited for Gavin to go sit before following, he watched the man slump down in a chair and start fidgeting with his phone as Elijah brought over the tool kit and sat next to Nines, Chloe had wandered to Gavin’s bedroom.

 

Is… Is Chloe not joining us?” Nines looked down into the hallway where the blonde had disappeared to.

 

“No, she only came to see Gavin’s cats.” Elijah chuckled.

 

“You have cats too?” Nines whipped his head around to look at the detective.

 

“Yeah, they’re around here somewhere, you’ll meet ‘em eventually.” Gavin shrugged.

 

“So where is the problem at, RK900?”

 

“Here.” Nines turned back to Elijah and took out the biocomponent from just behind his ear and handed it to the man. Elijah looked it over before getting a small soldering pen out and got to work on the cracked idea. Nines watched him in fascination. It wasn’t often you’d get to watch your creator fix a part of you and Nines currently wasn’t going to pass that up. Gavin looked up to see the look of awe on his face, it really wasn’t fair that the android was so pretty, it was getting hard for Gavin to focus on anything. Chloe walked back into the living room with a large creamy orange Maine Coon in tow, she peered over at Elijah before continuing on to sit on the arm of Gavin’s chair.

 

“I see you found Garbage.” Gavin leaned over to pet the big cat.

 

“I was looking for Cho but couldn’t find her.”

 

“Did you check the hamper in the bathroom?”

 

“Shoot no.”

 

“That’s where she is then.” Gavin huffed a laugh when Chloe set the cat on him and hurried off to the bathroom. Gavin looked up to see Nines looking at him.

 

“You named your cat Garbage?” Nines narrowed his eyes at Gavin.

 

“He has four cats, each name worse than the last, There’s Garbage, Bastard, Lunchbox and Leftover Chow Mein or ‘Cho’ for short. Gavin’s always been odd like that.” Elijah laughed.

 

“Those are awful names, Gavin…” Nines reached over and gave Garbage a pet of sympathy.

 

“Never claimed to be good at naming shit, _Nines_.” Gavin smirked when the android blushed.

 

“Almost done.” Elijah ignored the two as he finished up, he didn’t need to watch his brother be gay. Nines faced Elijah as he placed the biocomponent into his hand. “Here you go, RK900.”

 

“Ah, Thank you very much, Elijah.” Nines cupped the component in his hands, looking it over before popping it back into its slot. “That is much better.”

 

“That’s great. Now I better get Chloe before she tries to smuggle Cho out in her dress again.” Elijah stood and sauntered down the hallway.

 

“Don’t let her steal my cats, Eli!!” Gavin yelled after his brother, he faced Nines. “So no more static?”

 

“No, none.” Nines beamed at Gavin.

 

Gavin smiled back at the android. Elijah and Chloe came back into the living room to pack up the tool kit and say their goodbyes, Elijah told Nines if he needed anything else to get Gavin to call and they’d be right over. Chloe put out a hand to let Nines link with her so they could talk whenever he needed and then they left, leaving Gavin and the android alone again. Gavin got up and ambled to the kitchen to throw together a sandwich, of course Nines was right behind him.

 

“So what do you think of your maker?”

 

“He is different from what I expected but he seems kind.”

 

“Well we did catch him on a day where he’s less ‘holier than thou’ so yeah…” Gavin let out a yawn and moved over to the bag of clothes the two had left, he knew he was gonna get shit from Hank come Monday for sending his brother to his house for them but nothing he had would’ve fit Nines and if he sent Elijah shopping, it would’ve been days before he actually showed up, he’d just have to show up to work with something full of sugar and fat to pacify the large man.

 

“Gavin…”

 

“Huh? What’s up, Nines?” Gavin looked up at the android.

 

“I would like to thank you once again for doing this for me, it is far beyond what you had to and I am very grateful.” Nines moved around the kitchen island to quickly hug the shorter man.

 

“Hey, it’s really no trouble, okay? You can stay as long as you want. Honestly, it’ll be nice to have someone else around here.” Gavin hugged Nines back, why was this android so good at throwing Gavin’s heart into his throat? He patted Nines’ back and stepped away to go back to his sandwich.

 

“Thank you. If it is alright with you, I think I am going to retire for the night. Sleep well, Gavin.” Nines took the bag of clothes and walked into the spare bedroom, closing the door halfway.

 

“You don’t gotta thank me so much jeez… Night Nines, see ya in the morning.” Gavin watched the bot leave before going to retrieve his phone and headed to his room, he glanced into the spare room to see Nines already laying down on the bed, facing away from the door, the stuffed cat sat next to his head. Gavin slipped into his own room, closing the door. Now that he was alone with his thoughts he reviewed the night as a whole. Everything he did was probably the wrong choice but he couldn’t bring himself to leave Nines, he seemed so alone, Gavin knew how that felt. Gavin stripped down and crawled into bed, careful to not disturb the tiny dog curled up asleep. What was Gavin going to do now that he had an android staying with him? How long was he going to let him stay? Gavin didn’t know. As he drifted towards sleep, he decided to do what he always did...

 

Let future Gavin deal with it.


	3. The Next Morning

Nines woke to the feeling of something pressing onto his chest, his body filled with panic and he snapped his eyes open to find himself staring at a small, white Persian with folded ears. He was safe. The panic ebbed away and he lifted a hand to pet the cat standing on him, his fingers digging into the soft fur. The fluffy cat purred in appreciation. Nines pet down the side of the cats face and noticed a collar and tag in all the fur, he huffed out at quiet laugh when he read the tag. “Good morning, Lunchbox.”

 

The cat out a soft meep as Nines sat up and looked around the room, he still wasn't sure why this human was so kind to him, he felt as if he didn't deserve it. He wanted to do something to show his gratefulness, something that made him feel like he earned the kindness given to him. Nines could tell that Gavin was still asleep as he got up and padded out to the kitchen. Breakfast was important to humans and it was a simple way to start paying the detective back. The android began gathering the food items he needed out of the fridge and set about making Gavin a non complex meal of turkey bacon, eggs, and toast. It didn't take long before the smell of food cooking lured the sleepy human from his room, flopping himself down on a stool at the kitchen island.

 

“Mornin' Nines, sleep good?” Gavin yawned and pillowed his head in his arms. “You don't gotta cook for me by the way, you're a guest not a maid.”

 

“Good morning, Gavin. I slept well…” Nines turned to look at the detective and smiled at the man dozing off at the counter. “I know I do not have to cook for you, but I would like to show my gratitude for you letting me stay here.”

 

“If you're sure…” Gavin mumbled into his arm as he turned his head to look at the android, he really was pretty, grey-blue eyes all sparkly in the morning light. ‘ _Fuck it's too early for gay thoughts._ ’ Gavin pushed his face into his arms and tried to focus on something else, luckily for him, claws started tapping from his room to his apartment door followed by a loud yapping. Gavin slipped off the chair and walked to the door. “I'll be right back, Pea needs to go out.”

 

Nines hummed at Gavin as he left the apartment, turning to put on a pot of coffee, the man looked like he needed it. As he went about the kitchen, an alert popped up in his HUD alerting him that Markus wanted to connect and talk, he allowed the call to go through.

 

**Markus (7:23 am) Hello RK900, how are you?**

**RK900 (7:24 am) I am well. I have been offered a place to stay temporarily with one Detective Gavin Reed. He assisted me after I was assaulted by an anti-android group.**

**Markus (7:24 am) Are you alright? I can come get you and you can stay with us at Jericho if it's safer, I'm glad this detective helped you but I'm worried about you RK900.**

**RK900 (7:26 am) I thank you for your concern Markus but I feel perfectly safe here with this human and you know as well as I do that Jericho was not one hundred percent safe for me either. Gavin was kind enough to call his brother late at night just to come fix my audio processor that got damaged.**

**Markus (7:27 am) Well if you're sure this is what you want to do then I'll support you RK900, but if anything happens I want you to contact me immediately.**

**RK900 (7:28 am) Yes** **_mother_ ** **. I must get back to cooking before I burn the detective’s food. And before you ask Markus, I chose to cook for him. Have a good day and tell Simon I said hello.**

 

Nines ended the call and took the bacon out of the pan before cracking two eggs into it. Nines liked Markus but he didn't like the babying the older android did, just because they were from the same line of android didn't make Nines a hopeless child that needed another android to care for him 24/7, he could take care of himself. The door clicked open and Gavin stumbled in after the small dog that was yapping wildly at Nines’ presence, like she forgot he was there.

 

“Down Cujo, don't kill him, he makes me food.” Gavin laughed as he walked into the room, slipping pass Nines to grab the pot of coffee that finished brewing, his hand rested on Nines’ hip as he squeezed by in the small kitchen. Nines flushed a peacock blue and felt his thirium pump quicken. Gavin didn't seem to notice what he was doing as he poured his coffee, his thumb idly rubbing up and down over Nines hipbone. “So, I was thinking that after I eat, we can get ourselves together and go shopping. Pick you up some clothes for yourself. That sound okay?”

 

“Hhhuu…” Nines could barely focus on what Gavin was saying, his hand on him felt so nice. rA9 did he want to feel more. Gavin tilted his head up to look at Nines.

 

“You okay there, big guy?”

 

“Ah. Uhm yes, I am perfectly fine, Gavin. Shopping sounds lovely.” Nines tried his best to smile at the human but his mouth fell a gap as the hand on his hip squeezed.

 

“Eggs are burning, Nines…” Gavin took the spatula from his hand and lifted the eggs over onto the plate. “You sure you're okay?”

 

“Oh gosh! I am sorry Gavin… I-I did not mean to!”

 

“It's okay, Nines. Food is food, I'll eat it burnt or no.” Gavin threw a couple slices of bread on the plate and took it around the counter to sit down, letting go of Nines in the process. The android sucked in a small stuttering breath. Why had the detective’s hand distracted him that much? Why did he feel something like regret when it left its spot on his side?

 

“After we get you clothes, we gotta stop at my coworker’s to give back his clothes and you can meet your twin.” Gavin muttered as he loaded his mouth full of food. The man apparently had no qualms about talking while eating.

 

“My twin?” Nines tilted his head and leaned against the counter. “There is no other RK900 model…”

 

“Big brother then. Connor.”

 

“Y-you know RK800…? You know the Deviant Hunter?” Nines’ eyes widened. He knew RK800 was a Deviant himself now but the way the untrusting androids at Jericho treated him for simply looking similar would have made his guts churn if he had them. “Why do I have to meet him, Gavin?”

 

“Well I mean you don't but I just thought maybe you'd like to? He's a nice dude, he did wreck my ass in a fight once, I completely deserved it though. I was a phckin’ asshole to him, that was kicking taught me a little humility. Hank laughed his ass off when he found out, didn't think anyone could knock me down a peg like that, thought I was too stubborn.” Gavin sighed, he looked happy talking about RK800 and Nines was finding himself liking it less and less but unsure of the reason why.

 

“If you think I should meet him then I will but please forgive me if I am wary of him.” Nines looked at the smile Gavin gave him and returned a polite one back.

 

He'd meet with RK800, for Gavin and only for Gavin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gavin: shit I'm gay  
> Nines: shit I'm gayer

**Author's Note:**

> i know gavin is ooc dont @ me


End file.
